Baha'i man imprisoned in Iran reunited with daughter

86-year-old misses his native land, but sees friends and family at Schaumburg conference

September 02, 2013|By Ellen Jean Hirst, Chicago Tribune reporter

(Heather Charles, Chicago Tribune)

An 86-year-old man jailed last year in his native Iran because of his Baha'i faith, according to his family, spent the weekend at a Baha'i sponsored conference in Schaumburg with friends and relatives he hadn't seen in years.

After his release from an Iranian prison in April, Mohammad-Hossein Nakhaei reunited with his wife in Italy and has since moved with her into a home in Vernon Hills to be near his daughter, Nasrin Nakhaei, who lives in Highland Park.

Nasrin Nakhaei, who moved to the United States 12 years ago, said her father was released from prison earlier than expected after paying a fine. He was given leniency because of his age, she said.

"You know, I couldn't believe it," Nasrin Nakhaei said of her father's release. "It was the best day, April 21 was the best day of my life."

Speaking in Farsi, with his daughter serving as translator, Nakhaei said he was glad to be free but disappointed about being unable to return to his country because of ongoing discrimination against members of the Baha'i faith.

"Unfortunately he could not go back to Iran and he loves to be there," his daughter said. "He misses his country, his place. He misses his friends."

The three-day conference Nakhaei and her father attended over the Labor Day weekend, at the Renaissance Schaumburg Convention Center Hotel, featured Baha'i speakers, singing and prayers for Baha'i adherents who remain imprisoned in Iran. Nasrin Nakhaei said cousins and friends of her family from Iran and around the world were at the conference.

Mohammad-Hossein Nakhaei was imprisoned in May of 2012 on charges the family says were not clear.

Baha'i members have been persecuted in Iran since the faith's inception in the mid-1800s, said Anthony Vance, director of public affairs for the Baha'is of the United States. Things got worse during the Iranian revolution that began in the late 1970s, he said.

Mohammad-Hossein Nakhaei was also imprisoned for five years at the start of the revolution, his daughter said.

Since 1980, an estimated 12,000 Baha'is have left Iran for the U.S., according to Baha'is of the United States. There are about 3,000 Baha'i adherents in the Chicago area and 170,000 Baha'is in the U.S.

Mohammad-Hossein Nakhaei had been the primary caregiver for his wife at the time he was taken into custody. She has Alzheimer's disease and spent some time in Italy with another daughter — they have four daughters in all — before coming to the United States.

"It was very hard for my mom, because she kept asking, 'Where is your father, where is he?'" Nasrin Nakhaei said. "I would say, 'He's in prison, Mommy, don't ask.' Then one minute or two minutes would pass and she would ask again."

Mohammad-Hossein Nakhaei said through his daughter that when he was in prison he often thought he might never see his wife or daughters again. Nasrin said she has applied for legal permanent residence for her parents in the U.S.. They're now in the country on six-month visas.

"At the age of 85 they put him in prison again, unbelievable," Nasrin Nakhaei said. "But we are just happy he's here now."